False self-employment is being used to exploit migrant workers and the government should extend legislation into the construction industry, recommends Baroness Helena Kennedy QC.

Baroness Kennedy recently published a study, ‘Inquiry into Human Trafficking in Scotland’, written for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

According to a statement from the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT), which welcomes the recommendations, the report says: “Gangmasters can induce workers to claim self-employed status so that British land owners, farmers, factory and restaurant owners may, if they so wish, have no risk of legal consequences when they use such cheap labour.”

The report says vulnerable and exploited migrant workers are no longer confined to the food and agricultural sectors, saying: “Exploited foreign labour may now be found in the service and construction industries as well as in care homes.

“In our evidence-gathering it became clear to us that there seemed to be no good reason for the vital work of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) not being expanded to include these other sectors.”

Harry Frew, regional secretary of UCATT Scotland, says: “The report clearly identifies that the GLA’s strict licensing regime is the most effective way in cutting down on these abuses and the vital need to extend its powers to construction and other industries.”